


Negotiating for a New Daddy

by westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist



Category: The West Wing
Genre: Children, F/M, Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-01-11
Updated: 2009-01-11
Packaged: 2019-05-15 04:31:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 989
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14783634
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist/pseuds/westwingfanfictioncentral_archivist
Summary: This takes place in the 6 Minutes universe.





	Negotiating for a New Daddy

**Author's Note:**

> A copy of this work was once archived at National Library, a part of the [ West Wing Fanfiction Central](https://fanlore.org/wiki/West_Wing_Fanfiction_Central), a West Wing fanfiction archive. More information about the Open Doors approved archive move can be found in the [announcement post](http://archiveofourown.org/admin_posts/8325).

“Time out, Ella Joan.”

“No, I don’t think so, Daddy.”

“Excuse you?” Josh replied shocked. “You don’t THINK so?”

“That’s what Mommy says to you when she doesn’t want to do something you tell her.”

“You don’t get that luxury.” Josh shot back.

“Why not?”

“Because I’m the daddy and you’re the kid.” Josh explained. “I’m the one in charge.”

“Well, maybe I want a new daddy.” Ella said in all the innocence of a four year old.

“A NEW daddy?” Josh asked shocked. He was consistently amazed at the things that came out of his little girl’s mouth, though Donna always told him she certainly wasn’t amazed by any of it.

“Yes, a new daddy.”

“I’m not up to snuff anymore?”

“You’re trying to give me a time out.”

“I’m not trying.” Josh replied. “You’re going to get one.”

“My new daddy won’t give time outs.” Ella said crossing her arms at the kitchen table and using Donna’s dangerous pout.

“All right.” Josh said sitting down at the table with her. “Let’s hash this out. You want a new daddy, I’ll get you one.”

“You will?”

“Of course.”

“Why?”

“Because I love you, Ella, and if you want a new daddy then you and I can work together to find him.” Josh said. Ella looked skeptical of her father’s plan, but she did know that her father loved her, and if he said he was going to help her find a new daddy, then that’s what he was going to do. Her father never said anything he didn’t mean.

For Josh’s part, he couldn’t even BELIEVE he had let himself get drawn into this conversation. How was he going to not only win the argument, get the time out in the end, but make it seem like it was all Ella’s idea to “keep her daddy?” Foreign heads of state, senators, congressmen, cabinet secretaries, all these intimidating people he could outwit. His four year old pouting daughter? Possibly not.

“Okay.” she agreed with a nod of her head.

“Okay. We have to ask ourselves what it is that you want in a new daddy.” Josh began. “First of all, do you want to put an ad in the newspaper to advertise for one, or pick one you already know?”

“Well, you and mommy always say I’m not allowed to talk to strangers, so I should pick one I already know.”

“Good idea.” Josh nodded with as much seriousness as he could muster. “Let’s go through the people you know.”

“Uncle Mike.” Ella said first off. OF COURSE, Mike is her first pick! The sun rises and sets on that man!

“Uncle Mike can’t read.” Josh shot back.

“He can’t?”

“No. He’s not going to be able to read to you at night. That’s one of your favorite things, right?”

“Yeah.” Ella said unsure of her choice.

“He won’t be able to read any of your princess stories.”

“Okay. Not Uncle Mike.” Ella agreed.

“Who’s next?”

“Uncle Matt!”

“Uncle Matt would NEVER let you paint your room pink.” Josh said shaking his head. This part was completely true.

“But he likes mommy.” Ella said.

“Oh no, no.” Josh said. “Mommy stays with me. Mommy and I are married. She lives here. If you’re talking about a new daddy, you have to go live when them.”

“But mommy plays dress up with me.”

“Uncle Matt will play dress up with you.”

“But he won’t let me paint my room pink.”

“No, he definitely won’t do that.”

“But daddy, part of the new daddy’s job will be to kiss mommy.”

“Not while there’s a breath in my body.”

“What’s that mean?”

“It means that only I get to kiss mommy. Mommy’s not part of the deal, Ella. Mommy and I live here.” Josh said with such finality that Ella knew that surely was a deal breaker.

“Uncle Chris, then.” Ella nodded sounding so sure of herself. “He’s got Aunt Ginger, then I can have that new mommy too, I guess.” She guesses, Josh laughed to himself. She’s starting to waiver now that she knows she doesn’t get Donna either. Not that Josh could blame her, not getting to live with Donna was obviously a deal breaker to him, too.

“That’s a good idea.” Josh complimented. “With Uncle Chris and Aunt Ginger, you get a mommy AND a daddy. But they’ve got Brian and you don’t like boys.”

“Well, they’ll let me paint my room pink, and I can just play with my toys in my new room.”

“Well, you won’t get to bring your toys.” Josh said. “I bought you all those toys. They stay here with me.”

“Will I get to see Grandma still?”

“Probably.”

“But I won’t get to take my toys.”

“Nope.”

“And I’d have to live with a boy.”

“Yup.”

“You take me to the park. Who’s going to take me to the park?”

“I don’t know.”

“Well, who’s going to take me to the zoo?”

“I don’t know that either.”

“We were supposed to go to the American Girl fair tomorrow.”

“Yup.”

“Will you pick me up and take me from Uncle Chris’s?”

“No. Because your American Girl doll will be here.”

“But I really wanted to go to that with you.”

“I wanted to go, too.”

“We were going to go out to eat lunch.”

“Yup.”

“And you were going to buy me a new princess story for bedtime.”

“Yup.”

“Maybe I should just keep you as my daddy.”

“There’s still the issue of the time out.”

“I don’t really want a time out though.”

“But you’re not allowed to throw things.”

“What if I just said I was sorry?”

“You were going to have to say you were sorry anyway.”

“And still get the time out?”

“Yup.”

“I’m sorry, daddy.”

“Good girl.”

“I’ll take my time out like a big girl.”

“Mommy will be proud.”

“Can I have a hug first?”

“Absolutely.”

THE END


End file.
